Comparative study of catalytic ozonation and Fenton-like processes using iron-loaded rice husk ash as catalyst for the removal of methylene blue in wastewater

This study intends to compare the effectiveness of catalytic ozonation and Fenton-like processes for the decolorization of methylene blue using iron-loaded rice husk ash as catalyst. In both processes, effect of initial pH, adsorption, hydroxyl radical scavenger, and chemical oxygen demand removal was studied. The results revealed that catalytic processes were found to be pH dependent with the highest activity at pH 3.0. Unlike Fenton-like process, catalytic ozonation also found to be effective at pH 7.0. It is therefore, concluded that catalytic ozonation process is more effective than Fenton-like process near wastewater pH values.